Bindjareb Djilba (Peel-Harvey estuary) Protection Plan
The Bindjareb Djilba (Peel-Harvey estuary) Protection Plan is a whole-of-government plan to improve the water quality of the estuary and protect its significant ecological, cultural, social, and economic values. It provides a collaborative framework and actions for government, industry, and community to implement over the next ten years (to 2030).
Implementation of the protection plan is a 2021 State Government election commitment and is supported by an additional $5 million investment over four years.
The additional funding allows the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to expand its partnerships and programs under Healthy Estuaries WA to deliver actions outlined in the protection plan. Existing partnerships with the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Bindjareb Traditional Owners and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development have been up-scaled to deliver more on-ground actions that will improve waterway health. These include:
- doubling the number of farmers testing their soils, participating in the fertiliser management program, and expanding the amount of revegetation and fencing to keep stock out of waterways
- working with Bindjareb Traditional Owners as active partners in estuary management. Enabling the mapping of cultural sites and sharing knowledge so cultural values can be better embedded in decision-making
- expanding trials to reduce nutrients with phosphorus-binding clays in streams and drains that discharge to the estuary
- expanding water quality monitoring and developing a more rapid evaluation of harmful algae species
- optimising and applying the Peel-Harvey estuary model to assess how the estuary will respond to management actions and climate change.
Through the protection plan, the department has established the cross-agency Bindjareb Djilba Policy and Planning Committee to guide the implementation of the plan. The committee focuses on minimising future sources of nutrients through regulatory and policy actions and works to embed Bindjareb cultural values in decision-making for the estuary.
Cultural mapping on the Bilya Maadjit/Murray River
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that the following video contains images and names of people who are deceased.